Moscow expects that the face-to-face summit of the "five" of the UN Security Council (Russia, China, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom) will take place in a favorable epidemic situation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Phileleftheros newspaper.
According to him, the pandemic demonstrated the need for the coordination of efforts between the main world centres with the central coordinating role of the UN. "All disagreements should be put aside and countries should unite for the sake of working out viable solutions to the key problems of our time, of strengthening global and regional security and stability. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s initiative to convene a summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council is aimed at addressing these problems, Lavrov said. - . I am glad that our partners’ reaction was positive and interested. We hope that this attitude will help organise an in-person meeting when the epidemiological situation gets better".
The Russian Foreign Minister acknowledged that the novel coronavirus outbreak was a major challenge for entire humanity that has changed the daily lives of billions of people literally overnight. "The situation is compounded by the fact that the pandemic has exacerbated a number of long-standing problems such as terrorism, drug trafficking, cybercrime, as well as, of course, the numerous unresolved crises and conflicts," he explained.
The need to combat COVID-19 has not yet led to a consolidation of the international community. Moreover, some Western states are seeking to use this unfavourable epidemiological situation to promote self-serving, momentary interests, to settle scores with unwanted governments or with their political and economic competitors, the Minister stressed. - As a result, conflict potential is growing around the world, as well as distrust, narrowing the space for interaction to effectively address common issues."
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS